【正文】 per capita demand for rice is imminent in Teruvia.B. Not all of the acreage in Teruvia currently planted with rice is well suited to the cultivation of rice.C. None of the strains of rice grown in Teruvia are exceptionally highyielding.D. There are no populated regions in Teruvia in which the population will not increase.E. There are no major crops other than rice for which domestic production and domestic demand are currently in balance in Teruvia. GWD5Q22 to Q25:Most pre1990 literature on businesses’ use of information technology(IT)—defined as any form of puterbased information system—focused on spectacular IT successes and reflected a general optimism concerning IT’s potential as a resource for creating petitive advantage. But toward the end of the 1980’s, some economists spoke of a “productivity paradox”: despite huge IT investments, most notably in the service sectors, productivity stagnated. In the retail industry, for example, in which IT had been widely adopted during the 1980’s, productivity (average output per hour) rose at an average annual rate of percent between 1973 and 1989, pared with percent in the preceding 25year period. Proponents of IT argued that it takes both time and a critical mass of investment for IT to yield benefits, and some suggested that growth figures for the 1990’s proved these benefits were finally being realized. They also argued that measures of productivity ignore what would have happened without investments in IT—productivity gains might have been even lower. There were even claims that IT had improved the performance of the service sector significantly, although macroeconomic measures of productivity did not reflect the improvement.But some observers questioned why, if IT had conferred economic value, it did not produce direct petitive advantages for individual firms. Resourcebased theory offers an answer, asserting that, in general, firms gain petitive advantages by accumulating resources that are economically valuable, relatively scarce, and not easily replicated. According to a recent study of retail firms, which confirmed that IT has bee pervasive and relatively easy to acquire, IT by itself appeared to have conferred little advantage. In fact, though little evidence of any direct effect was found, the frequent negative correlations between IT and performance suggested that IT had probably weakened some firms’ petitive positions. However, firms’ human resources, in and of themselves, did explain improved performance, and some firms gained ITrelated advantages by merging IT with plementary resources, particularly human resources. The findings support the notion, founded in resourcebased theory, that petitive advantages do not arise from easily replicated resources, no matter how impressive or economically valuable they may be, but from plex, intangible resources.GWD5Q22:The passage is primarily concerned with B CA. describing a resource and indicating various methods used to study itB. presenting a theory and offering an opposing point of viewC. providing an explanation for unexpected findingsD. demonstrating why a particular theory is unfoundedE. resolving a disagreement regarding the uses of a technologyGWD5Q23:The passage suggests that proponents of resourcebased theory would be likely to explain IT’s inability to produce direct petitive advantages for individual firms by pointing out that A A. IT is not a resource that is difficult to obtainB. IT is not an economically valuable resourceC. IT is a plex, intangible resourceD. economic progress has resulted from IT only in the service sectorE. changes brought about by IT cannot be detected by macroeconomic measuresGWD5Q24: BThe author of the passage discusses productivity in the retail industry in the first paragraph primarily in order to A. suggest a way in which IT can be used to create a petitive advantageB. provide an illustration of the “productivity paradox”C. emphasize the practical value of the introduction of ITD. cite an industry in which productivity did not stagnate during the 1980’sE. counter the argument that IT could potentially create petitive advantageGWD5Q25: A EAccording to the passage, most pre1990 literature on businesses’ use of IT included which of the following?A. Remendations regarding effective ways to use IT to gain petitive advantageB. Explanations of the advantages and disadvantages of adopting ITC. Information about ways in which IT bined with human resources could be used to increase petitive advantageD. A warning regarding the negative effect on petitive advantage that would occur if IT were not adoptedE. A belief in the likelihood of increased petitive advantage for firms using ITGWD5Q26:Healthy lungs produce a natural antibiotic that protects them from infection by routinely killing harmful bacteria on airway surfaces. People with cystic fibrosis, however, are unable to fight off such bacteria, even though their lungs produce normal amounts of the antibiotic. The fluid on airway surfaces in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis has an abnormally high salt concentration。 accordingly, scientists hypothesize that the high salt concentration is what makes the antibiotic ineffective.Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the scientists’ hypothesis? CA. When the salt concentration of the fluid on t